Leading Japanese law firm Nishimura & Asahi has been advising Idemitsu Kosan (“Idemitsu”) [TSE: 5019] on all aspects of its business integration with Showa Shell Sekiyu (“Showa Shell”) [TSE: 5002].

Idemitsu, Japan’s second-largest oil refiner by sales, announced it will proceed with a long-delayed integration of its operations with fourth-largest Showa Shell, setting an effective date of the integration on April 1, 2019. Showa Shell will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Idemitsu through a statutory share-exchange (kabushiki-kokan), and Showa Shell will be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.